


Making a List, Checking It Twice

by betheflame



Series: Shorts & Drabbles 2019 [20]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Family Feels, Fluff, M/M, Parent Bucky Barnes, Parent Sam Wilson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:08:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21902017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/betheflame/pseuds/betheflame
Summary: Bucky, Sam, and their daughters spend Christmas morning together. Aunt Nat and Uncle Steve show up and more family fluff ensues.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Sam Wilson, Steve Rogers/Natasha Romanov
Series: Shorts & Drabbles 2019 [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1432378
Comments: 9
Kudos: 56
Collections: SVBB & MRBB Secret Santa 2019





	Making a List, Checking It Twice

**Author's Note:**

  * For [avintagekiss24](https://archiveofourown.org/users/avintagekiss24/gifts).



> Avintagekiss24 asked for fluffy SamBucky on Christmas morning with their kids - and so it shall be!
> 
> Thanks to the mods of the Marvel Reverse Big Bang for setting this whole thing up!

“Sweetheart,” Sam muttered in his sleep. “I hear them.”

“It’s before sunrise, they’re your children,” Bucky muttered back from the other side of the bed.

“Okay, Mufasa, but it’s Christmas and Lizbeth is convinced she’s getting that Switch, so she’s not exactly gonna be patient,” Sam kissed the back of his husband’s neck and started making moves to leave bed.

“Grwarg,” Bucky groaned.

“Yup,” Sam bit back a laugh. Fifteen years together and Bucky had never risen before dawn without a complaint. “I’ll go be their favorite dad and you just amble yourself along whenever you choose, pumpkin.”

“Fuck you,” Bucky mumbled and sat up in bed, scratching the sleep out of his hair.

“Oh, baby, promise?”

Bucky opened his eyes for the first time and smirked at Sam. “We’ll see if Santa lets me know if you’ve been a good boy this year.”

“Oh, Mr. Elf Helper, I’ve been terrible, actually.” Sam twisted and kissed Bucky, letting his hands wander slightly.

_***CRASH*** _

The sounds of giggles filled the air and some scampering feet heading in their direction.

“Three, two -” Bucky mumbled against Sam’s lips as the door burst open and their three daughters burst into the bedroom. Leading the charge was Tiara (age 4), with her two older sisters, Lizbeth (age 8) and Nia (age 7) scrambling behind her.

Bucky and Sam made room for their brood quickly. Tiara started bouncing on her knees. “Did Santa come?”

“I’m sure he did, munchkin,” Bucky reached out for his daughter and pulled her close. Sam marveled at how quickly his life partner could just throw his entire focus into their daughters. Sam’s brain was always somewhere else, he felt, always thinking of other things. Bucky’s brain was laser focused on their family at all times. It was humbling.

“But what’s the rule?”

Tiara dramatically rolled her eyes and recited, “We have to wait until Dad goes downstairs and makes sure Santa didn’t leave soot everywhere. We wait here with Papa until then.”

“Exxxxactly,” Bucky said emphatically, kissing Tiara soundly on her forehead and then making a shooing motion at Sam. “So, Dad, get a move on.”

“Yeah, Daddy!” Nia affirmed. “Do it.”

“Manners, Nia Wilson,” Bucky corrected softly as Sam got out of bed and searched for his slippers.

“Sorry, Papa.” Contrition filled Nia’s voice as she continued, “Daddy could you please go check that Santa was clean?”

“Yes, baby,” Sam smiled and made his way out the door.

* * *

“And then I want to call Uncle Steve and tell him,” Nia said a few hours later, her mouth full of pancakes and the family room floor full of the detritus of Christmas morning.

“Chewing or talking,” Bucky corrected. “You can only choose one.”

“Besides, Uncle Steve and Aunt Nat are coming in forty-seven minutes,” Lizbeth said quietly, drowned out by her sisters as usual, but seen by her fathers.

“That’s right, Bitty,” Sam smiled gently and was rewarded with a slight smile as she continued to methodically cut her pancakes and bacon into perfectly portioned pieces and chew each piece thoroughly.

“Are they bringing Nomad?” Tia breathed the dog’s name with reverence and Bucky bit back a smile.

“Yup,” her papa affirmed, “so the kitchen and the family room have to be Nomad-proofed before they get here. Who wants to take care of the trash bags?”

Tiara volunteered for that, while Lizbeth predictably asked to help wash dishes, and Nia said she would make sure all the girls’ gifts were properly put away. Clear tasks were important for Lizbeth and had become important for her sisters as well. They may not understand their sister, but Nia and Tiara would do just about anything to earn a rare smile.

Christmas at the Wilson house followed a few clear rules. First, everyone only got four individual gifts and the family got one big gift all together. Right after Lizbeth had come home to them, Bucky had read something on Pinterest that caught his eye about gifting practices.

_“Pinterest,” Sam had stared him down. “You start talking to me about oils or leggings and I’m leaving you.”_

_“Well, that’s just rude, Sammy,” Bucky had smiled back. “Especially since I’m sure one of our new suburban mom friends will sell something to get that stick outta your ass.”_

Something you want, something you need, something you wear, and something you read had been gift guidelines for the girls for the entirety of their lives. This applied not only to their fathers, but to their various aunts and uncles. Steve had definitely been the hardest to corral, but he’d gotten the hang of it.

The big gift changed each year. Once it was a bathroom renovation for the girls to get two sinks, once it was a trip to Disney World. This year… Bucky grinned to himself as he thought about the other dog that Steve and Nat were bringing over with Nomad. This year it was going to be one of Nomad’s recent litter of puppies.

“Papa?” Lizbeth said quietly as the pair washed the dishes.

“Yeah, Bitty?”

“Are we getting a puppy?”

Bucky blinked a few times and reminded himself that someday Lizbeth Wilson would probably be the greatest spy the CIA had ever known. “Why do you ask?”

She cocked her head to one side and replied matter-of-factly that she’d seen dog food that wasn’t Nomad’s favorite brand in back of Bucky’s car, and they had been saving newspapers more than they normally do and when she did some research, newspapers were used to train puppies.

“So are we?”

“Don’t tell the girls, okay?”

“Our secret, Papa,” Lizbeth nodded, but Bucky could see a look of worry cross her face.

“We’ve planned out the mess,” Bucky assured her. “Uncle Steve and Aunt Nat are going to help us get everything settled, but you are going to have to be just a little patient, is that okay?” Lizbeth’s therapist had assured the men that stretching her need for control, just a little, was appropriate and that a puppy was a good way to do it. The dog would cause chaos, but it would be no one’s fault, and Lizbeth could learn to handle it without feeling attacked.

“Nia is going to be so excited,” Lizbeth smiled up at him and wiped her hands on the dish towel before wrapping herself around his waist. “Merry Happy, Papa.”

“Merry Happy, Bitty.”

* * *

The puppy was a success, but even more exciting was the news that Aunt Nat was going to have a _baby_ , which sent everyone into paroxysms of joy. Bucky cried unashamedly and clung to his best friends, knowing full well how much pain had been a part of this process.

When the traditional viewing of _Muppet’s Christmas Carol_ was complete and it was time for the Rogerses to leave, Bucky pulled Steve aside and just held his face for a minute.

“I’m so scared,” Steve confessed through a few tears.

“You should be, it’s fucking terrifying,” Bucky laughed and pulled Steve into a full hug. Tilting his mouth towards Steve’s ear, he continued. “But, you have been the greatest uncle and that’s great training for being a great dad. And you’re not alone. You were here, you know Sammy and I had no idea what the hell we were doing and yet we kept those three alive with a load of help from you, and Nat, and Bruce, and Nakia, and everyone. We’ll show up for you, too.”

Steve nodded and pulled away from the hug. “Her body, I’m… They’ve warned us it might be a hard pregnancy.”

“Well, then it’s a good thing you married the toughest woman any of us have ever met,” Bucky grinned and slapped Steve on the back as they joined their spouses. “Breakfast on Saturday?”

The pair had been meeting for breakfast - just the two of them - nearly every Saturday since they were juniors in high school. Steve nodded, “7am at Jenny’s. I’ll be there.”

“Jerk.”

“Punk.”

“You weirdos,” Nat said as she pulled Bucky into a goodbye hug. He laughed and they all bade each other goodbye.

Sam wrapped his arms around Bucky’s waist from behind and Bucky leaned back into the man he trusted more than he trusted himself. “Merry Christmas,” Sam’s gravelly tone resonated through Bucky’s body.

“Merry Christmas, Samuel. Let’s go to bed.”

“Sounds good, James. Sounds very good.”

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/betheflame1) or [Tumblr](http://betheflame.tumblr.com) for more on these yahoos. You can also submit prompts and cajole me into writing faster - it usually works. 
> 
> If you like how I write Sam and Bucky, check out [Caught With Their Pants Down](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21469093), an E-rated AU about how they got together.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic of] Making a List, Checking It Twice](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27636775) by [Flowerparrish](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flowerparrish/pseuds/Flowerparrish)




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